‘All of you, shut up,’ Mahmud said in Arabic. ‘Silence. No more. Not even in Arabic. We speak of nothing in the open. We can only talk of the mission during meetings.’

They all nodded, except for the Kent brothers and Jax, who, despite looking dumbfounded, had understood every word.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked Khalil. ‘Did I do something wrong?’

CHAPTER 32

Canberra, Australia

THE rising sun had set fire to the water, which blazed red, orange and yellow, all the blue hiding under a sheet of glass. With no whisper of wind, the surface of Lake Burley Griffin had turned into a mirror. An early-morning rower glided across the fiery surface, leaving a wake of spitting embers.

Sami looked out the window of the speeding sedan, a Holden Commodore, admiring the view. Everything had been so bleak back in the US. He couldn’t remember a darker fall, everything cold, colourless and dying. But here, half a world away, everything burned bright. The heavy tint on the black Commonwealth car did little to dull the colours, the blues and greens almost as spectacular as the auburn flame thrown by the sun. He felt a flush of hope.

‘How long until we get into the city?’ he asked the driver.

‘This is the city, mate. Welcome to Canberra.’

Sami pushed himself off the back seat, leaned forward and peered out the front windscreen.

‘That’s a city?’ he asked.

‘You betcha, mate. Capital of Australia.’

Sami was on his way to brief his Australian counterparts. Of course he would share any intelligence that wasn’t classified and any intelligence that indicated a direct and immediate threat to Australia. But in truth, it was simply a courtesy call and he planned to mainly shake hands, smile and answer most of their questions – and he was certain they would have many – with ‘Sorry, that’s classified.’

As a spy, Sami wasn’t supposed to trust anyone, but he allowed himself to do so now and again – he was never one for rules. And while he knew that might be seen as a flaw, he liked to think of it as a strength. But Sami’s trust had to be earned, and this was his first trip to Australia. He had never dealt with ASIO before.

‘Behave yourself once we’re in there,’ he cautioned Mav. ‘You might not like it, but this is their country and we are just visiting. As far as they know, we are here to help.’